May 18, 2012 10:05:02 AM
May 18, 2012 2:57:23 PM
I made a quick visit there yesterday. We had some great weather as you can see on the pictures, furthermore Thursdays prior to the 24h race the surroundings are still very calm. I was actually surprised how calm it was at some parts of the Nordschleife and met two or three mountain bikers that passed along. Some of the alcohol-consuming clientele is already active but somewhat in the minority.... yet.
Another advantage is the availability of parking space which significantly decreases towards the weekend. The last two times I was able to sneak onto the Nordschleife without buying a ticket which is still possible at some parts of the track but not the big spectator spots, GP circuit or paddock. I arrived around midday and first experienced the 24h Classic qualifying at Fuchsröhre and Schwedenkreuz.
I walked further towards the GP circuit when, in the meantime, first practice for the 24h race started.
While the GP circuit might not be as challenging for the drivers or entertaining for the spectators, the pit lane and paddock area delivers some interesting sights... not referring to ladies, by the way. It´s amazing, how much effort, equipment and manpower are involved:
There are some great sounding cars, worth mentioning are the GT3 R and RSR, the various Aston Martin or Mercedes SLS race cars but my long time favorite is still the GT3 Cup, ever since I heard the first 996 Cup, and this is one car I aspire to own in the hopefully not so far distance.
After various practice sessions the 1st qualifying for the 24h race started and, since being held in the evening, produced some stunning impressions. I encourage everyone to once stand at the tourist entry at Döttinger Höhe and watch these cars go by. This was filmed at Schwedenkreuz filming towards Flugplatz:
For more accomplished pictures, please visit this website as I only carried the mobile phone with me. Wishing lots of fun to everyone going there this weekend!
May 18, 2012 3:18:21 PM
Spyderidol:
It's going to be a very tough battle against the BMW's, Mercedes and the Audi's (organizers favorites), so I just hope that Olaf and the boys can show them how it's done one more time!
There are quite a few strong cars with proper drivers competing for overall victory. I have a good feeling about the Timbuli Racing GT3 as well as the two Manthey cars. Cannot comment on the Falken Porsche but they have had some good results in the past as well. Overall you are right though, the competition is tough this year... but that is nothing new.
May 18, 2012 3:53:30 PM
Yes, I was only referring to the Porsche teams that have the potential to win overall. Black Falcon is strong, Rowe Racing as well and both drive an SLS. Just not sure how reliable the car is over the distance.
Audi, after all these years of practice, should have enough experience as well. In the last few years, accidents and technical problems set them back.
BMW has two great cars, a solid team and very fast drivers. Alzen and Adorf are two of the most accomplished Nordschleife experts,, so they will be very competitive again. A very solid package alltogether.
The following competitors, such as the Young Drivers team from Aston Martin, might not be as quick but could benefit from any mishap of the above teams.
I keep my fingers crossed especially for Black Falcon as they enter their SLS as solevprivateers and they did a great job yesterday with Sean Edwards at the helm. You have to watch for Manuel Metzger in this car, he is also fantastic and is the reigning VLN champ. Last year I drove 4 races in the VLN and 3 in the RCN for them and their cars are always top notch prepared. Additionally rain could mix it up a bit and they run on Yokohama which is supposed to be very good in these kind of circumstances.
Mike
May 19, 2012 8:07:49 AM
May 19, 2012 8:16:54 AM
@spyderidol: Thanks for the warm welcome. As I have a BMW M3CSL and a GT3RS I like both marques,
These are the TV coverages in Sport1 and ARD for the 24 hours:
live) Sendezeiten auf Sport 1
Do. 17. Mai, 10:15 – 11:15 Uhr: Motorsport-News live vom Nürburgring
Do. 17. Mai, 23:30 – 00:00 Uhr: Highlights 1. Tag
Fr. 18. Mai, 11:00 – 13:00 Uhr: 2. Qualifying (live)
Fr.18. Mai, 16:00 – 19:00 Uhr: Top-40-Qualifying (live)
Fr.18. Mai, 20:00 – 22:15 Uhr: Highlights 2. Tag
Sa. 19. Mai, 10:15 – 13:10 Uhr: Zusammenfassung
Sa. 19. Mai, 15:45 – 17:30 Uhr: Startaufstellung / Startphase (live)
Sa. 19. Mai, 22:00 – 00:00 Uhr: Rennen, Teil 1 (live)
So. 20. Mai, 07:00 – 11:00 Uhr: Rennen, Teil 2 (live)
So. 20. Mai, 15:15 – 17:00 Uhr: Rennen, Teil 3 / Zieleinlauf (live)
So. 20. Mai, 22:30 – 00:00 Uhr: Highlights
Sendezeiten ARD
Sa. 19. Mai, zw. 13:35 u. 15:00 Uhr: Bericht im Rahmen der Sportschau live
Sa. 19. Mai, zw. 18:00 u. 18:55 Uhr: Bericht im Rahmen der Sportschau
So. 20. Mai, 13:30 – 13:45 Uhr: Bericht im Rahmen der Sportschau live
So. 20. Mai, 16:10 – 16:25 Uhr: Bericht im Rahmen der Sportschau live
So. 20. Mai, zw. 18:00 u. 18:30 Uhr: Bericht im Rahmen der Sportschau (evt. Ergebnis-News)
Mike,
it is great to have you here. Black Falcon is indeed a very good team, I regard them very highly since they have been very successful with different cars and not, unlike other teams, focus on a singular model. I still think that the 24h at the Nürburging are much more demanding than most other races because of the road condition (bumps, elevation changes etc.) as well as traffic on this comparatively tight track.
Anyways, the performance gaps between teams this year are very, very small. I truly enjoyed the Top40 shootout yesterday where the fastest cars were able to set their qualifying times without slower traffic, being released onto the track each ten seconds. There are a dozen cars that have the speed, drivers and knowledge to win the race. Highly exciting.
Are you going to compete in the near future again?
I completely agree that the Ring is still the most demanding track for the drivers and the cars. Everyone who makes it to the end is a winner!
We will see if all the teams have already shown their hand yet. The tires will be crucial as the performance from one make to other depends heavily on the weather. Usually the michelin shod cars have an advantage but the Yokos are good in mixed conditions and Dunlop developed their tyres for the Z4.
I'd like to compete again, maybe I drive some races in autumn. Honestly as I drove in the same team with the champions on the same car there is no hiding and I could not translate my RCN results into the VLN as traffic is much higher and also the mental stress tough competing as an amateur. Until now I had a lucky class win in SP4, two 5. places in V5 and also a 7. place in V5. In RCN I was several times on the podium with also a win.
Currently I do more selective track days like Spa and Redbull Ring with my GT3RS MKI. I still have to learn to drive the Porsche and I have huge respect of its dynamics especially as this car has no PSM and we already spun the car in Spa at 180km/h exit of Pouhon and suffered some damage, luckily nothing on the chassis nor the engine.
Mike
M3ike:We will see if all the teams have already shown their hand yet. The tires will be crucial as the performance from one make to other depends heavily on the weather. Usually the michelin shod cars have an advantage but the Yokos are good in mixed conditions and Dunlop developed their tyres for the Z4.
Indeed. Judging by the numbers of tire damages during qualifying and the early minutes of the race they are on the very limit. The race is very entertaining so far...
I'd like to compete again, maybe I drive some races in autumn. Honestly as I drove in the same team with the champions on the same car there is no hiding and I could not translate my RCN results into the VLN as traffic is much higher and also the mental stress tough competing as an amateur. Until now I had a lucky class win in SP4, two 5. places in V5 and also a 7. place in V5. In RCN I was several times on the podium with also a win.
I hear you. It shows you the room for improvement if you are in a team with these drivers.
Ferdie:
Porker:
Ready for the race!
That looks pretty much like my layout... except for the pool!I thought that I mentioned it before... obviously not... but there is an iPhone/iPad app called ADAC 24h Rennen which provides live timing and streaming.
That's what the iPad is for! On the laptop I watch the Sportauto streaming while listening to the Radiolemans comments, ideal for me! Enjoy the race!
May 19, 2012 4:08:16 PM